My breakdown of each person that played significant minutes.
Starters:
Ramon Sessions - One thing I noticed was that he gave better effort defensively than normal. He tried hard at keeping Bynum out of the lane and did reasonably well at that. Offensively, he is what he is. He's the same player from the last three years; can't shoot a lick, runs endless pick and rolls, and he'll have one absolutely horrible missed layup per game. That said, I think he's going to be a fine backup point guard because he won't turn the ball over and he can provide offense out of nothing for the 2nd unit.
Anthony Parker - Steady and unspectacular. A game like tonight made me realize exactly why he was brought back. He's lost a couple of steps defensively, but he's probably one of the smartest players in the entire league and always knows where to be (even if his lack of speed doesn't allow him to get to that spot on time). Offensively he's going to be a big help for Kyrie and Ramon because he's comfortable handling and moving the ball offensively. If he limits his out of control plays offensively and just focuses on keeping the ball moving and hitting open threes, he'll be good.
Alonzo Gee - I thought Alonzo did everything well, except shoot the basketball which was dreadful. I thought his efforts defensively were excellent and he showed up huge on the glass. He extended a few offensive possessions on hustle alone. Obviously the lack of a jumper is the one thing that's holding him back because he had several wide open looks in the first quarter and just couldn't knock them down. I do think if he keeps up this level of hustle and commitment to defense, he'll be Casspi's primary backup ahead of Eyenga.
Antawn Jamison - Like Sessions, Jamison is what he is. Barring injury or a trade, he's for sure going to lead this team in scoring, but it's going to be a frustrating year to watch him fire jumpers with his foot on the three point line and miss free throws. That said, the team needs him. He's one of the few guys who's not afraid to shoot and this team has a major lack of scoring. The only play he had that I really enjoyed was the one post up opportunity he got against Villanueva where he good deep position and got an easy layup. I hope the team takes advantage of these opportunities when they come along in the season and don't limit Jamison to running pick and pops for 20 footers.
Anderson Varejao - Couldn't be happier to have him back. By far our best defensive player and best finishing big around the rim. His energy is contagious and he's the lynch pin of the defensive effort, which I felt was very good last night. I was very pleased with the jumpers that Varejao knocked down because that shot is going to be there all year for him. The play where showed hard on the screen and forced a steal around midcourt and started the fastbreak himself was a thing of beauty. I think his trade value will be there if he stays healthy. Will Grant be willing to trade him is a bigger question?
Bench:
Kyrie Irving - Very pleased with his performance all things considered. He made a few poor passes into the post and had too much mustard on a few other passes, but I thought he looked smooth. I don't want to call a 19 year old crafty, but that's exactly how Irving plays to me. He doesn't look like he's moving particularly fast, but the next thing you know he's in the lane and his body control is so good that he can absorb a hit and draw a foul. Obviously its a bit of a concern that Kyrie seemed to gas out in the 4th quarter given that he only played half the game. I hope his conditioning is where it needs to be because with 66 games in 122 days, there are going to be a lot of nights where those legs are going to be really heavy. Outside of that and some minor turnover issues, I think he's going to be really good.
Mychel Thompson - I wasn't terribly impressed with him. He seemed to be a good athlete who didn't have a lot of skills. His rebounding was pretty good and his defense wasn't bad, but I didn't see much ball handling or shooting ability. I wouldn't get rid of Manny Harris for him, but I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
Christian Eyenga - Still an elite athlete, still has no idea how to play basketball. Was totally out of control with the basketball and took a horrible contested three late in the game. We all know he can run and jump, but I wasn't very impressed with anything else he did. Daye made him look pretty stupid defensively getting him in the air and then stuck a jumper in his face.
Tristian Thompson - Was completely invisible in the first half. Literally did nothing offensively and picked up a bunch of fouls. Was much better in the 2nd half. His free throw stroke wasn't as bad as I expected, even though he missed some. He's obviously very raw offensively, but he didn't look like a complete lost cause. Defensively, he's not going to be very good holding the point of attack in one on one post situations, but his length and athleticism will give people problems as a weakside shotblocker. I have no doubt that he'll continue to work to get better and improve his game.
Samardo Samuels - By far the most pleasant surprise for me. When he first checked into the game, my first reaction was "Damn, Samardo looks FAT" I thought he looked like he was a good 15 pounds overweight, but he played his ass off. Maybe the extra weight actually helped him because he looked like a real bull down low. He was impossible to move off the spot and he racked up a ton of fouls on the Pistons soft bigs. If he was 3 inches taller, he would have been a top 10 pick. He's strong as hell, he can make a jumper and free throws, his post moves are pretty good, he's just short and plays below the rim. Either way, he was our best player last night and really controlled the paint.
